Chapter 1: Dismissed Warning
Solid hazel eyes peer through the thick pine branches. Seemingly never blinking. Short, mint gray, claw-like thorns sunk into the pine bark like butter. Its long tail restlessly flicked in every direction causing a few blue-gray berries to fly into the nearby shrubbery. A shiver surged through its body.
Anyone who saw the creature would call it "dangerously mystifying". Pretty even.
It silently watched, waiting. Easily able to tell what will inevitably happen.
Past the treeline 7 young children played in the fenced backyard's fresh winter snow. They ran about, ignored by most of their babysitters. The older humans were unfamiliar to the creature.
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Oliver was home from college for Winter break and brought his new friends & best friend, Colby, home too. They had the house to themselves since Oliver's parents were out of town on a business trip for another week.
Two couples and Colby sat atop a partly cleared off picnic table. Then Oliver walked outside. His and his friend's lunch in hand. He shoved the kitchen's sliding glass door open wider with his heal.
At the edge of the yard a little girl sighed, silently stepping over the fence and walking over to the swing set nearby. She plastered a calm smile on her face, waving her arm to get one of the other kid's attention.
"Kirsi!" A little boy in a chocolate brown jacket shrieked.
"Hmm?" Oliver looked over his shoulder, seeing his little brother run up an' tackle her into a hug.
The other kids walked over, curious about the pale girl. A few of the other little girls giggle as Kasper shoved his face into her oversized white jacket.
"You're late!" Kasper chirped, smiling wide. "But just in time for lunch."
"Hello little Kirsikka." The older brother called over. "Lunch is ready. All of you head inside and warm up."
The group ran over, cramming their way inside. Kasper and Kirsi trailing behind, Kasper tugging her wrist to make her walk faster.
As the pair walked by Colby glanced up then back at his meatball sub. His head suddenly snapped up, jolting back, shock on his face as he fell into the snow.
The couples look between each other. A shared "WTF" look on their faces as the door closed.
"Dude, what's with the over-the-top double take?" Claude asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah, you are a bit of a scaredy cat. But that came out of nowhere." Mallory added, teasing him.
"What's the deal?" Ronan turned to Colby, offering him a hand.
"You scared the ever loving CRAP out of us." Valerie glared at him.
He tried to calm his breathing as he sat back on the picnic table, shaking the snow out his ginger hair. Oliver scooted over to him and patting his back.
"Yeah," he took a deep breath, thick Russian accent getting a little harder to understand in his panicked state. "That girl just startled me a bit. For a second, I thought a Winter Lily was in front of me."
He chuckled nervously, looking away in embarrassment. He takes a bite of his, somehow intact, sandwich.
"Winter what?" Valerie asked, now sounding confused and irritated.
"Their from a few local legends." Oliver replied, glancing towards the kitchen door. "Since the four of you are from France you may not have heard of them. There're differing legends and accounts all over the far North an' a few other places."
"Seriously? A few old fairytales got you this riled up?" Claude barked out a laugh. "You really are a scaredy cat."
"Leave him alone!" Ronan glared at the other three. "Let's just eat."
The trio rolled their eyes, focused on their food now. Oliver mouthed a small 'Thank you' to Ronan, he smiled in return.
* * *
Oliver stood at the sink, idily chatting with Ronan & Colby as he cleaned some pots and pans from cooking dinner. He wanted to get these done before eating so there'd be less to clean after.
"Guys?" Ronan finally asked, a puzzled look on his face. "About earlier..."
"'Bout what?" Colby turned on his stool, sipping his cola with too much ice.
"Hmm?" Oliver hums, scrubbing the ever loving crap out of a frying pan.
"You guys mentioned some legends about something called a... Winter Lily?" He asked, fiddling with a few blonde lochs.
Oliver turned, about to answer when he noticed Kirsi standing in the doorway. He jumped, having not heard her walk in.
"We finished setting up the blankets, cushions an' pillows for the sleepover in the living room." She said, an odd smile on her face. "Your 'friends' in there didn't help at all, tripped some of the littler kids and laughed while recording it. Also, almost everyone has started eating."
Her face twisted to one of annoyance as she turned to Oliver. Ice ran down his spine as she took a few steps forward.
"Kasper wants to wait for you to come in before he starts eating, but those three are picking on him for it." She hissed coldly, before returning to her blank smile.
Colby startled at her voice, coughing as his drink went down the wrong way. He let out a 'tchyo za ga lima?' under his breath.
The trio stared at her for a moment. Oliver shook his head, arms crossed and now being the annoyed one. Ronan breathed out a sigh, "You scared us... Kirsi?"
"Kirsikka Celine. Only my friends can call me Kirsi." She replied. "But Oliver's too formal."
"I'll talk to them." Oliver & Ronan spoke in unison, glancing at each other.
She nodded, seeming satisfied. She turned to leave, but stopped. Glancing back, "We took a vote. We decided on ghost stories rather then movies. I'll start with the Winter Lily's most well-known legend."
She walked off after that, not waiting for a response. They stood in silence for a moment before Oliver spoke up.
"Never thought a 7 year old could have me feel like a child being scolded by a disappointed parent. But then again, she is really protective of Kasper." He laughed.
"What is she, 4 foot nothin'?" Ronan asked, trying to stifle his laughter. "Made me feel like I was 3 inches tall. Mon dieu!"
"Told you!" Colby snapped, sipping his cola. "She aught to be a drill sergeant. I swear she could scare anybody straight!"
***
Everyone gathered in the living room, kids ready and exited for ghost stories. But Claude, Mallory and Valerie seemed peeved after talking with Oliver and Ronan.
Someone turned off the lights, flooding the room in near total darkness. A few electric camping lanterns were the only remaining source of light.
Kirsi sat on the couch with Kasper, waiting for the room to quite down. She sat up straight brushing her white bangs out of her face.
"I'm sure your parents have told you bedtime stories of them. Warning you to be good or else the Winter Lilies will come to steel you away. NEVER to be heard from again." She leaned forward a bit, a sinister smile stretching across her face. "But these aren't just fairytales your mama and papa told you. Many of their stories are grounded in truth. Some stories dating back many, many centuries."
She sat back, folding her pale hands in her lap. The kids leaned in closer. Collectively spooked at the mention of the infamous Lily, yet curious to know more. Even the college kids were creeped out, but not for the same reason. It wasn't until now that they noticed, she doesn't speak like a child. Most brushed it off, a few refocusing on the story. But the girls returned to their phones, flat out ignoring Kirsi.
"Some of you may have overheard your parents talking about this. There've been many rumored sightings over the years, but over the last few months there've been a lot of attacks. The adults have claimed that Winter Lilies are responsible."
"Oh, sure." Valerie sneered.
"The adults believe the Lilies are responsible due to the the strange ways the people were found. Either frozen in terror or simply dropped dead. Like the soul was sucked out of their bodies." Kirsi frowned, glaring at the girls ignoring her.
"Lame!" Claude, commented.
She narrowed her eyes, "When I say frozen in terror, I mean literally. They were frozen solid, a layer of ice encasing them. Their faces were twisted in fear, some posed like they'd been trying to escape."
Kirsi paused, glancing at Kasper as she heard him sniffling.
"L-last week, a frozen one was shown on the news. Mama had the tv on while she was making me an' Kirsi pancakes in the morning. It's. It was really scary." Kasper sniffed, squeezing the life out of his plaid bunny plush.
The room went silent, the snarky trio now paying her their full attention. A few of the children started whimpering and shaking. Colby was latched onto Ronan for dear live.
Kirsi scanned the room for a moment, "Over time, no matter who has seen them the accounts stay the same. But no matter how many people try to say they aren't real and try to disprove their experience, They. Are. Real! I know it, I've seen them. I remember hearing that Colby's encountered one too?"
Colby whined, nodding. He was shaking like a leaf.
"Yeah. I remember it like it was yesterday," he shivered, begrudgingly peeling himself off Ronan to sit up straight. "I was around 9 or 10, the e-end of autumn. Oliver and I were playing in the wood behind my house. I lost track of him, but heard some rustling nearby while searching. So, I ran over and saw... it. A Winter Lily stood right in front of me."
He gulped, "My mother told me many times not to go too far into the forest because monsters live in there. I didn't realize just how far I'd wandered. But there I was, face to face with one. It was at least six feet tall, powder blue face with light gray tipped white petals. It had large, clawed hands, and a fluffy, feather-like leaf collar. It-it's tail was long with some berries and it has a long train of feathery leaves hanging off its hips. Honestly, it was absolutely beautiful, but those icy pink eyes. The second I saw those solid pink, emotionless eyes."
Colby shivered, "I've never been so terrified or ran so fast in my life. I don't know what about it scared me so much. The second it stepped towards me and reached out its hand I just bolted."
Kirsi relaxed a little, face softening. She nodded, "The one I've seen was similar, but was shorter then me with deep blue petal tips and dark brown eyes. She was crouching near someone's back garden with a dog licking her. Luckily, I wasn't noticed."
She paused, noticing the confusion on one of the little boy's face.
"How you know is a goil?" The 3 year old asked.
"All stories and encounters with them were with feminine Lilies. They all look and seem to sound like girls." She explained, humming to herself a bit.
"Of course their girls!" Another little boy added. "Lilies are girly flowers for girls. So, they'd have to be girls!"
A few of the other boys agreed as Kirsi rolled her eyes.
"If they're these monstrous icy flowers then how exactly do they catch their victims? They must stick out like a clown in a farmer's market." Claude added, sounding a little smug.
Kirsi smirked, a light giggle leaving her pale blue lips. She clicked her tongue, humming a little louder as she locked eyes with him, "That's just it. Those who were with the victims when a Winter Lily was encountered? They didn't see a flower. They saw a child or young woman with pale skin and white hair. They wear a white dress, no shoes and sometimes a necklace or thin jacket. At first glance they're indistinguishable from humans, but the longer you're around them the more you notice that something's off."
The college group looks around them nervously. The room slowly growing colder by the second. All the kids, even Kasper were asleep. Claude noticed then that Ronan was snoring in the pillow pile, Colby still attached to him. Mallory and Valerie gulped, glancing at Oliver. No luck he was sound asleep too. They looked back to the 'girl' in front of them, fear rippling through them.
She leaned forward, nails digging into the couch cushion as white, wisteria tipped hair cascaded over her shoulders and fell into her face.
"They look frostbitten, ghostly pale skin with blue lips and sharp fangs. Their eyes being one solid color. An abyss with seemingly no pupil or any white. Just. That. Enchanting. Color. But their victims won't mind, too entranced to notice. Not 'til the very. Last. Moment." She hissed, voice low and sickeningly sweet.
The trio scooted back, eyes widening.
"Also, we don't like people like YOU!" She growled, solid hazel eyes staring them down. "People who've done it BEFORE! And got away with it!"
She stood with a look of pure rage on her pale, frostbitten face. Her white dress looking more like thin, feathery leaves trailing behind her.
The trio shrieked, scrambling to get up. To get out of the house as fast as possible.
"Oh putain de merde! C’est quoi ce bordel?" Mallory squealed, yanking the car keys from her pocket as they flew through the front door.
***
Oliver sat up, blinking groggily. He flipped his wavy raven hair out of his face and switched on his phone, 9: 15 am. Then he noticed the smell of pancakes wafting from the kitchen. His brows furrowed, he looked around the room. He counted six sleeping kids, Kasper and Kirsi weren't on the couch.
Giggles and laughter came from the kitchen. He got up and hurried in. Ronan stood at the stove, in the process of making chocolate pancakes for everyone.
Colby, Kirsi and Kasper sat on three stools at the island in middle of the kitchen. Kasper was planted between the two, happily stuffing his face.
The tv in the corner was switched on to the news channel. His brows knitting together again, "Guys? Where are..."
"Here," Kirsi interrupted, handing him a note. Her attention back to being split between the news and her raspberry lemonade the moment he took it.
It was in Mallory's messy handwriting, "Must have been in a hurry."
The scratchy note read:
This lily stuff is like, way too freaky for us. We're going back to the campus dorms for the rest of the break. We don't want anything to do with it!
See you guys then, Mal :)
"So, they ditched us." Oliver sighed, putting the note on the counter.
"Nope." Colby replied. "Look at the news."
Kirsi turned the sound up. On the screen was a car accident, the front of the vehicle wrapped around a telephone pole. His eyes widened, blood running cold. It was Mallory's car, but that's not what bothered him. The video onscreen showed the trio were frozen solid, a thick layer of ice engulfing them. Their faces twisted in horror.
"That's not the half of it." Colby spoke up, slight anger in his voice. "The police were sent an anonymous e-mail. Those three used to run a babysitting service back in France, but it got shut down after it got out that they treated the kids as less then dirt."
"No wonder the Lilies went after them." Oliver replied. "I heard a rumor that they got soft spot for kids."
"Ya think you know someone." Ronan hissed bitterly. "Then this gets dumped on ya!"
"You'll find someone better." Kirsi piped up, trying to sound reassuring. "You can call me, Kirsi. Your a sweeter guy then I thought."
He smiled at that, the atmosphere lightening a little. They all went silent not sure what else to say.
"If you're good the Lilies will pass on by, but if your bad they'll get you. They were very bad." Kasper said, shoving a forkfull of pancake into the mound of peanut butter on his plate and into his mouth. "They're always watching."
BEWARE THE WINTER LILY!
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